Car-coupling



(No'ModeL) v. BREACH. GAR COUPLING.

Patented Janl 2, 1894.

INVENTOR A TTOHNEYS.

VALENTINE ERBAOH, OF SORANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 512,103, dated January2, 1894.

Applieationfiled April 12, 1893- Be it known that I, VALENTINE ERBAOH,of

Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Couplers, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in car couplers, and it has forits object to provide a carcoupler of exceedingly simple and durableconstruction, and one in which the coupling link or hook will be of twinpattern, as it is provided with two bearing surfaces having an opposinglink or hook of the same character.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the coupling linkor hook that when coupled with the link or hook of an opposing drawhead,no matter how decided the curve may be over which the train is passing,the hooks or links of the couplers will have two bearings and at thesame time ample play will be provided for the drawheads and links bothvertically and laterally.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth and pointed out inthe claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures and letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through opposing drawheads, the saiddrawheads being shown in the act of coupling, and the section is takenpractically on the line '1-1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of twoopposed and coupled drawheads. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through onedrawhead, illustrating the coupling link or hook in side elevation. Fig.4 is a front elevation of the drawhead, the coupling link or hook beingshown in an elevated position; and Fig. 5 is a detail perspective viewof one of the links or hooks removed from the drawhead.

The drawhead A is provided with a link chamber A, of peculiar formation.The chamber is open at the top, and its rear wall is provided at oneside with a longitudinal recess 10, and in this recess the rear end ofthe coupling link or hook B, is pivoted by means Serial 110,470,001- (Nomodel.) A

of a pin 11, bolt, or the equivalent thereof, upon which the link orhook turns freely.

In the bottom of the recessed portion 10 of the link chamber an opening12, is made, through which dirt or other foreign matter may fall to theground; and the bottom wall of the link opening slopes in direction ofthe opening 12. The bottom of the link chamber A at the front isdecidedlyinclined in direction of one side of the drawhead, theinclination being downward. Therefore one portion of the front of thechamber is much lower than the other, the lower portion, which isdesignated as a and is best shown in Fig. 4, being at that side of thechamber opposite that in which the link or hook is pivoted. Thedepression a is made at the extreme front portion of the drawhead, andthe bottom of the link chamber at that point slants upward and rearward,as at this point the hook or link of an opposing coupler is adapted toenter, and the depression a, is made in order to facilitate the readyentrance of a link in the drawhead whether one drawhead be higher orlower than the other.

As has heretofore been stated, the coupling hook or link B, is ofpeculiar formation; it comprises a body section 13, which is flat andstraight upon its outer face, and where the body is visible upon itsinner face it is of like formation. At the outer end of the body a spur14, is formed, which spur virtually oonstit-utes the head of the hook orlink and extends horizontally from the inner face of the body. The frontface 14E of the head let, is conveXed or cylindrical, while its innerface 14 is concaved. A second head or spur 15, is formed upon the innerside face of the body back of the outer spur or head 14, and the forwardside or front face of the rear spur 15, is beveled to a greater or lessdegree from a point near its rear surface in direction of the body to apoint where the forward end of the rear spur or head meets the innerface of the forward spur or head, which occurs where the said inner faceof the forward head or spur meets the body of the link or hook. The

rear or inner face of the second or inner spur orhead 15 is convexed,the convexed surface showing best in Fig. 3, audit is designated as 15,while the inclined forward surface of the spur or head is designated as15*. Thus practically it may be said that the coupling link is primarilya twin hook, embracing a single .shank and two heads arranged one at therear of the other.

The rear end of the body is of a thickness corresponding to thethickness of the coupling hook at the head portions thereof and the rearenlargement 16 thus formed is practlcally of oval shape, and stands moreor less diagonally upon the shank; both the back and front of the rearenlarged portion of the hook are therefore cylindrical. The rearenlargement of the shank is provided with a suitable aperture 17,through which the pivot pin 11, passes. When the coupling hook islocated w thin a drawhead, the. inner head 15,is just within the linkchamber, while the outer head 1s removed some distance from the chamber.

The coupling hook may be raised to a vertical position, as shown in Fig.4, or to a sufiicient height to admit of uncoupling with an opposinghook, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, by attaching a chain or a linkto eyes 18, located upon the upper surface of the hook, preferably inthe upper face of the inner head, and the chain or link may be carriedto the top or to the side of a car and operated by direct tension, orthrough the medium of a shaft conveniently located.

The improved coupler will couple automatically with an opposing coupler,as when the two drawheads are made to approach one another quiteclosely, the hook in one drawhead will ride up into the hook or linkchamber of the opposing drawhead, and as the hooks enter the opposingdrawheads, they will be slightly elevated and will immediately afterwarddrop to a locking engagement with each other, as shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 1 the coupling hooks are illustrated as just entering thedrawhead, and they will both ascend practically to the position shown indotted lines before they drop to a locking engagement shown in Fig. 2;and when they are in looking engagement the outer head of the couplinghook'of one drawhead will engage with its inner concaved surface 14 therear convexed surface 15 of the second or inner head of the couplinghook of the opposing drawhead, and the inclined or beveled faces 15 ofthe inner forward faces of the rear heads of both coupling hooks will beopposite each other.

It is evident that no matter in what direction the drawheads may becarried laterally, both of the coupling hooks will be in engagement; andat no time, no matter whether the drawheads rise and fall vertically, orseparate to the right or to the left, the twin heads of the couplinghooks will always remain in engagement.

In the event it is desired to shunt the car and not effect a coupling,one of the coupling.

" hooks may be secured in the vertical position a coupling may beeffected with an opposing drawhead, as the coupling hook of thatdrawhead upon entering the drawhead in which the link is standing, willstrike the forward face of the enlargement 16 of the standing link andwill force the said link to drop to a horizontal and coupling position.

The coupler is exceedingly simple. It is durable and it is economic, andalthough the drawhead chambers are exposed, the coupler will work aseffectively in inclement as in fine weather. Furthermore, the couplinghooks are so strong that there is comparatively little danger of theirbecoming injured. In the event, however, that any accident should happento a coupling link or hook it may be easily replaced by another.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new anddesire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a car coupler the coupling hook B comprising thefiat body 13 formed on its in Y ing a transverse aperture, substantiallyas set forth.

2. In a car coupler, the combination, with a drawhead, of a couplinghook pivoted therein, comprising a shank and twin heads arranged one atthe rear of the other, the inner face of the outer head being concavedand the corresponding face of the inner head convexed, as and for thepurpose specified.

3. In a carcoupler, thecombination, with a drawhead, of a coupling hookpivotally located therein, comprising a shank and twin heads located oneat the rear of the other, the outer head being provided with a, convexedfront face and a concaved rear face, the rear head having a beveledforward face and a convexed rear face, as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a car coupler, the combination, with a drawhead provided with alink chamber having a recess in its rear wall at one side, of a couplinghook pivoted in the recessed portion of the chamber, the said couplinghook comprising a shank having a practically oval projection upon itsinner face at its pivot point, and twin heads arranged one in advance ofthe other, the outer head having a convexed front and a concaved rearface, the rear head being provided with a beveled front face and aconvexed rear face, as and for the purpose specified.

5. The combination with a draw head open at its top and front, of avertically swinging coupling hook pivoted at its rear end in said drawhead and provided at its outer end on its inner face with two laterallyprojecting spaced spurs or heads, substantially as set forth.

6. In a car coupler, the combination, witha drawhead provided withachamber open at at its higher or shallower portion, all comthe top andfront, and having the bottom of -bined to operate, substantially asshown and the chamber at the front beveled downwardly described.

in direction-of one side of the drawhead and VALENTINE ERBAGH. 5 beveledupwardly and inwardly at its lower Witnesses:

point, of a coupling hook provided with twin JOHN L. JENKINS,

heads pivoted within the drawhead chamber D. J.JENKINS.

